


You're the One That I Want

by Tobashii



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng Fluff, Gen, If You Squint - Freeform, Juleka/rose - Freeform, Kim/Max - Freeform, adrien grows up, basically fluff and more fluff, i wrote this at 3 am with no beta, join me in my trash heap
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-13
Updated: 2019-06-13
Packaged: 2020-05-02 13:49:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19200133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tobashii/pseuds/Tobashii
Summary: Adrien doesn't know how to handle the newest akuma making everyone chase their deepest desires. He's especially lost when Marinette gets hit protecting him.One thing is certain, though. He is determined to help her get what she wants.*Note* I cannot get italics to work one AO3, so I am going to have to go through and add the html code for it. Please let me know if I miss any!





	You're the One That I Want

Adrien sighed as he ducked into an empty classroom. The akuma had started screaming shortly after school had started, and was now chasing students around the campus. Adrien had seen firsthand as a student had been shot with a blast of light. When the light faded, their body glittered with a golden aura, and their chest began to glow bright pink. When they turned, their eyes were pale yellow. As he ran past students and classmates, rushing to find a place to transform, he saw dozens of amusing sights. Sabrina was chewing out Chloe, Rose and Juleka were cuddling in the corner, and Alix was roller blading around the courtyard, spraying every available surface with paint. He paused as he ran past the computer lab, where Kim was dreamily gazing at Max, who was tearing apart computers. 

“Max, what are you doing? I thought you loved computers?” He called into the lab. He shivered at the malicious smirk on Max’s face. So did Kim, who also began to drool slightly. 

“Of course I do. But I’m going to build Markov a big brother, one who can get us into the government security program, and he needs parts. And then we are going to have some fun moving some funds around, fixing roads, funding videogames start ups, donating to technology programs at schools. And maybe we’ll go after some bigger fish, once we have a bigger fryer. I hear England is having some political discourse...”

“Your anarchist streak always gets me hot, Max.”

_Nope._

Adrien ran much faster then. He was out of breath by the time he found an empty classroom, still quietly chanting the word to himself as he ducked in behind the door. He discreetly toed it closed and started to catch his breath before transforming. 

“I am Desicoeur! I never get what I want. Now I’ll make sure EVERYBODY gets what they want! What their hearts’ desire!” The akuma’s voice rang down the hallway.

 _What DO I want?_ Adrien asked himself as he settled against the wall. _I wanted Ladybug to love me, but she won’t._ Running his hands through his hair, he leaned back. He had said that he would be happy with her friendship, but he had continued attempting to woo her, and even he could see it was ruining their partnership. So he stopped flirting as much, and Ladybug seemed much happier, livelier than ever before. He’d accepted that they were only friends, but he still couldn’t help but be sour about her rejection. When he’d tried to move on, and go out with Kagami, she said that she wasn’t interested anymore after only a few dates. Pestering her for her reasons, she simply stated how he was too superficial, and niceness and politeness could only take him so far, and she wasn’t signing up to be a therapist. _Why does no one want to be with me? I always go out of my way to be nice, and I was certain I knew how to be romantic. What am I doing wrong? Why can’t I get anyone to love me?_ He pushed the heels of his hands into his forehead, and hoped the pressure would be enough to force out his frustration.

 _I want father to spend time with me, but he won’t._ Lately, his father seemed even more focused on his work, spending more and more time in his office. He’d even started eating all his meals in there, and only came out to sleep. With how early his father was in his office every morning and how late he stayed every evening, Adrien wasn’t even sure that he did that. He knew how futile it was to get his father’s attention, but he still tried. And still failed. He shook his head, feeling the wall grind against the back of his skull. That wish wasn’t even worth his worries, with how futile it was.

 _I want freedom, but..._ but what? His restrictive life had gotten much more tolerable since he became Chat Noir. He got to run around on the rooftops of Paris, he got to express himself with no filters, he got to flirt with the woman he adored, and many more. Actually, his life was leaps and bounds better than it had ever been. So what more did he want now?

A slam knocked him out of his thoughts. The door was lying splintered on the floor, and the akuma sauntered into the room. “Now look what we have here! A spoiled little rich boy! I wonder what someone like you could possibly want,” the akuma cackled. They shot a beam of light at him, and he jumped out of the way. He crawled between the desks as blast after blast volleyed around him. At the next opportunity, he could jump to the teacher’s desk and run behind the akuma, escaping into the hallway. He leaped out, rolled over to the teacher’s desk, but when he straightened, he was greeted by the akuma’s face just a few feet from his. He was pinned. The akuma stood between him and the door. And he had their full attention.

“Nowhere to run now, rich boy,” the akuma growled at him. They sneered and slowly pointed their weapon at him.

Adrien squeezed his eyes shut and braced himself. A scream echoed off the classroom walls. He felt something crash into his chest, but it didn’t feel like the akuma’s beam. It felt like a person. 

Looking down, he recognized a pair of black pigtails.

“Marinette?” 

Marinette was pressed against his chest, fists balled up in his shirt. He instantly wrapped his arms around her.

“Marinette! Why did you do that? You’ve been hit!”

“Tch, ah well, I guess I missed,” the akuma snickered at them, “so let’s try again!”

Adrien scowled at the akuma as they leveled the weapon at him. He curled his shoulders protectively around Marinette, preparing for another blast, when a glowing purple butterfly masked the akuma’s face. With a snarl, the akuma scoffed and flicked their weapon.

“Fine, Hawkmoth, I’ll leave him. Rich boy probably gets what he wants all the time anyway.” The akuma sniffed at Adrien, then jumped away up to the roof. 

Watching the akuma bound away, Adrien felt his shoulders relax and tried to ignore the offended sensation in his stomach. He immediately stiffened again when he felt movement in his arms. _Marinette!_ He pulled her away from his chest and quickly examined her, searching for any potential damage. 

Marinette was shimmering with a golden light, little white sparks jumping across her skin. She had pushed herself back from him and locked her elbows, keeping herself as far away from him as she could. Her hands were still knotted tightly in his shirt. 

“Marinette! Marinette, are you ok?” He covered her hands with his, and looked down at her face. She didn’t seem to be in pain; instead she seemed surprisingly calm. Her eyes were focused and determined. His heart thumped. _Her eyes look just like Ladybug’s._ Occasionally her pupils would widen slightly, then she would blink hard and they would return to normal. He knew she could only resist the akuma’s influence for so long. “Marinette, I need you to tell me what’s happening to you. Maybe we can stop it if we know what exactly is going on.”

“I-” she started, voice shaking. She cleared her throat, took a slow, deep breath and continued, “My body is telling me to go and do the things I have always wanted to do. I want to go show Gabriel Agreste my design portfolio, I want to go protect the other students, I want to stay here with you and- and keep you safe, I want- I need to go find a place to tr-“ She bit down on her tongue to stop herself. That was something she did NOT want to say. “S-so many things, and my body can’t seem to decide which thing it wants to do most. I’m fighting it. Maybe by not concentrating on one goal, I can keep it from making me do anything yet.”

“What were you thinking, jumping in the way? You had no idea what could have happened to you!”

She stared at him for a moment, incredulous, before she turned her gaze to his chest. “I didn’t care. You were in danger. I had to save you.”

She said it so matter-of-factly, as if it was the simplest thing anyone could think of, and Adrien couldn’t help but feel impressed by the girl in his arms. Her strongest impulses were to protect people. He was touched. “What do you want to do first, Marinette? Maybe I can help you.”

“NO!” She looked up at him, fear briefly replacing the determination in her eyes. “Please, don’t try to be nice to me now! I can do this!”

Adrien studied her for a moment. Her arms had begun to tremble, and her pupils were fluctuating constantly now. The white sparks had become larger and more volatile, leaping across her face and down her arms and torso. A soft smile spread across his face. _She is so strong._ Sliding his hands up her arms, he rested them on her shoulders, rubbing small, soothing circles with his thumbs. He kept his voice as gentle as he could as he spoke. “It’s ok. I’m here for you, and we can handle this together.” He placed a hand on her cheek and tilted her head up so she looked at his face. “What do you want, Marinette?”

Something cracked, and the myriad of white sparks flashed toward her chest. They burrowed their way into her heart, which began to glow a hazy pink. The look in her eyes changed, her pupils blown wide and flickering with white and yellow. 

“I want to kiss you.”

“What!?”

“I want to kiss you.”

A shock went down Adrien’s spine. “M-me?” He choked out.

She nodded. “I’ve loved you for so long, and you never see me. Your eyes are always on someone else. Now Luka’s interested in me, and he’s nice, but I’m stuck. I can’t move on from you. You had my heart first.” Adrien felt heat wrapping around his heart. “You are so kind, and thoughtful, and handsome, yes, but your smile is so beautiful, and your laugh is so sweet. But you look so sad, so lonely. I just want to hold you and kiss you and make it so you never feel that way again.” Tears began to roll down her cheeks. 

Stunned, Adrien gingerly brushed at her tears. _Had she always felt this way? Had she always been in so much pain? Because of me?_

Shaking his head slightly, he took in the situation. His back was still to the teacher’s desk, and Marinette’s hands still gripped the collar of his shirt. The only thing keeping her from kissing him right now was her arms, locked like iron beams at the elbows. 

“You want me?” His voice broke faintly. “You want me to love you?” _Can I? Can I really love Marinette as much as she deserves to be loved?_

She hesitated, but when she spoke, her voice was soft and certain. “Yes, but... more than that, more than anything in this world, I want to make you feel loved.” She met his eyes. He saw every shy giggle, every tease, every lovelorn glance. He felt every touch, every heartbeat, every heated blush. A hard lump formed in Adrien’s throat as he struggled to breathe. He had never seen such a beautiful shade of blue.

_Absolutely._

He deliberately slid his hands back down her arms, never looking away from her face. “Ok,” he whispered, “Ok. I’m not very good at this... at love, or relationships, and I’m not sure what I’m doing, but that’s ok. I’m here for you, and we’ll figure this out. Together.” He held her elbows and tugged on them gently. He could feel her resist, but knew if he pulled a little harder, they would fold, and nothing would stand in her way anymore. 

“Are... Are you sure?” Her voice wavered, hopeful. Her face was painted rose with a pretty blush, one he was sure he wore as well. “It’ll probably be clumsy and seem like I’m desperate and I don’t know if the akuma’s influence will let me be as gentle or graceful as I want so I just want to be certain.”

He smiled. “Absolutely.” He pulled her elbows again. She let her arms collapse, and yanked herself into his chest. Her head smacked against his, awkwardly mashing her lips against his chin. They both grunted grunted in pain as she peppered frantic kisses over his cheek and jawline. 

“Sorry,” she managed to mumble between kisses. His awkward laughs were interrupted when he jumped at the feeling of her lips on the corner of his mouth. “I’m so sorry!” 

“It’s ok, Marinette,” he said he caught her face between his hands and held her still. “You did warn me you wouldn’t be graceful, and it’s not like you could reach my face properly if I didn’t help a little.” He grinned at the pout on her face before she clutched his collar and yanked him into her, pressing a kiss to his bottom lip. He chuckled a little, both nervous and giddy, and then adjusted so that his lips were meeting hers better. 

There wasn’t a feeling of fireworks like the movies had claimed. There weren’t any flames or sparkles or jolts of electricity. Adrien couldn’t have felt them even if there were. 

Adrien didn’t remember much from the first time he heard a piano. He remembered his parents, and lots of people in fancy clothes. But the gentle sound he heard when the playing started was earthshattering. His whole body was being wrapped in pillowy fur. His ears and fingers buzzed gently, and his chest was thrumming with every note. He was transfixed, astounded at how full and light and warm his heart had felt, at how someone could give others so much emotion. And Marinette was a master composer. Every kiss she delivered was a new chord, each more sincere and earnest than the last, causing his soul to explode with vibrant melodies he had never heard before. She seemed determined to deafen him with her symphony. 

A loud, disharmonious crash startled them both, and they broke apart with a gasp. His heart hammered, and he panted slightly. He didn’t try to conceal the smile on his face, even as he pushed her away to go find the akuma. “I need to go find help, Marinette. Can you stay here till I get back?” She thoughtfully covered her purse with her hand and nodded. Blushing slightly, Adrien kissed her on the forehead before bolting from the room.

It was the most stressful akuma battle he had ever fought. His eyes kept flicking back to the school and the windows of the room where he left Marinette. A golden, glittering Ladybug fought the akuma ferociously, claiming it was the one thing she really wanted to do right then, and they defeated Desicoeur quickly. He barely stayed long enough for the traditional fist bump before leaping away. Upon returning to the classroom, though, Marinette was nowhere to be found. He raced over the rooves searching, only to catch a fleeting glimpse of her walking into the bakery and hugging her parents. Relief rushed through him. _At least she is safe,_ he thought as he landed in a nearby alley and prepared for the walk home. 

He had a lot to think about that night.

~~~

Adrien sighed heavily as he walked into the classroom. He had been awake most of the night thinking about what to say and how to say what he wanted to say and how not to say what he didn’t want to say. Finally Plagg had gotten fed up with his overthinking and threatened to hide camembert in his closet if he didn’t go to sleep. He knew he was nodding off, and was incredibly thankful for the notes Nino would slide over for him to copy. At the lunch bell, he turned to the desk behind him.

“Marinette?”

Her head jerked up with a squeak as he stood in front of her desk. “Adrien! Help I can- er, can I help you?” she asked, cheeks red as she stumbled through her words. 

“Do... uhm, do you remember what happened while you were under the akuma’s influence?” 

Her eyebrows furrowed. “Well, not completely. What I do remember is kind of hazy, and I can’t tell what really happened and,” she paused as a blush colored her cheeks, “a-and what were just visions of the things I wanted.”

“Maybe we should talk privately?” He asked, rubbing the back of his neck. “I was with you most of the time, so I could fill you in on some of the things you said and did.” He felt heat rising in his face, and a tense silence fell over the group.

All three froze, and slowly his friends up. Alya smirked at his reddened face, and Nino looked between them, confused. Marinette, though... Marinette looked afraid. “Did- Did I do something bad?” Her voice trembled a bit, and she covered her mouth with her hands. “ _Merde,_ did I hurt you, Adrien?”

Adrien panicked at her horrified expression. “NO!” He cried out, a little too loudly. “No, of course not!” His hands flailed around as he sputtered, “I know that you wouldn’t- you would never! You're just too nice! I just,” His face was even redder now, he was sure. Clearing his throat, he took a deep breath before he continued. “It’s nothing like that, I swear. It’s just something I assumed you would want to know about before everyone else did. I thought I would tell you first, so you could decide what you wanted to do,” he finished, extending a hand to her.

Her eyes flashed with confusion and concern, and as she stared at his outstretched hand, one of hers brushed over her purse. He could feel their friends’ eyes on him, and the exchange had caught the attention of their other classmates. Several curious glances flicked over to them constantly, despite attempting to look engaged in their own conversations. Adrien sighed and gestured with his hand again. Her eyes snapped up to meet his, and he saw the same determined strength as before, when she was intent on saving him. She stood and her eyes flicked down to his hand. This time, she took it.

He guided her down the hallways to the stairwell, and paused at the door for the roof.

“Why the roof?” he heard her voice from behind him.

“Well...” _In the anime I watch, all the romantic confessions happen on the roof of the school. It seems appropriate,_ he thought, but her reaction might not be a positive one if he told her that. “It’s very private, and there are never any students up here, so we won’t be interrupted or have to worry about eavesdropping.” Her soft hum told him that his answer was good enough, and he pushed open the door. 

They squinted at the bright sunshine as they stepped out onto the concrete. He blinked a few times, before turning to Marinette. 

She fiddled with one of her earrings and huffed, “Listen Adrien, I think I know what you found out, and I just-”

“You kissed me.”

Marinette balked, hands falling by her sides, as she paled. “I what?!”

“We kissed. You told me about how you were... are in love with me. How Luka is pursuing you, but you were conflicted because of me. Because you still wanted to be with me.”

“Adrien I’m so, so sorry,” she began, but Adrien held up a hand.

“I’m not,” he whispered. He glanced up, worried that he may have spoken too softly, but a soft gasp told him she’d heard. Her brilliantly flushed cheeks spurred him on. “I’m not sorry at all, and you shouldn’t be either. You should never feel bad about what’s in your heart. The things you said... they made me think about myself. I stayed up most of the night thinking about it. And I realized that I’m just not ready for a relationship yet.” As he watched her face crumble and twist, he realized what he said. “No, wait. That- that came out wrong. Please, let me explain.”

“I- I cared about a girl for a long time; I even thought I loved her. She didn’t return my feelings. When she told me she loved someone else, I was angry she wasn’t giving her affections to me. I pouted, and argued, and acted childishly. I pushed her because I was being selfish, and only thinking about how I liked her, and not how she felt in being pursued. And-” Adrien stared at his hands, slowly clenching them into fists, “And I was wrong to do that. Very wrong. I’ve never had any healthy relationships in my life. Not with my father, or with my coworkers, or my classmates. Not even with Nino or my other friends,” he jerked his head toward the door. “I don’t know how to be in any kind of relationships. I don’t know how to treat people. I try to be nice to everyone, but doing that means I’m not treating them fairly. I do and say what I have to so I can avoid conflict and try to keep everyone happy. But I can’t keep doing that. It hurts the people I care about. People like you,” Adrien met Marinette’s eyes, and noticed tears on her cheeks. 

“Adrien, I-”

“No, please, let me finish. I’m not ready for a relationship because I need to improve myself first. I need to grow up and be a better person. I need to learn how to respect the people I care about, to treat them properly, and I need to consider not only the consequences of my actions, but also how they make others around me feel. Your words yesterday showed me that.”

“My words? What did I say?”

Adrien brushed the tears off her face, leaving his hand on her cheek. He noticed how she leaned into his touch, but while his chest felt light, he didn’t call her attention to it. “You told me how much you care for me. How you didn’t even want my name or my body or my attention, but you wanted to give me your affection and make me feel loved. To make me feel happy and safe and warm. You told me that, Marinette, and you taught me in one day how love isn’t about taking. It’s about giving. When you kissed me,” he grinned as he felt her face heat up under his hand. His thumb caressed her cheek, rubbing the reddened skin. He was starting to adore that pretty blush. “When you kissed me, I didn’t feel like you were doing it for your own pleasure. Those selfless kisses didn’t feel like you were taking. You were giving. Pushing, really. It was like you were trying to drive every ounce of love and adoration into me with each and every kiss.”

Marinette jumped, pulling back from him slightly. “‘Each and ev’- There was more than one!?”

Adrien allowed his signature Chat Noir grin to split his face. “Oh, yes. There were several. You were quite enthusiastic about it.” Marinette covered her face and groaned into her hands, and Adrien couldn’t contain the laughter bubbling in his chest. Teasing her would be so fun.

“In all seriousness, though, as I am now, I’m not sure I’m ready for a relationship. But I do like you, and I do want to be in a relationship with you in the future. But I don’t want to saddle you with all this baggage. I want to get rid of it. So,” Adrien stepped closer to Marinette, taking her hands in his own and bringing them to his lips, “so I want to try taking things slow with you. We can start by going on dates, and you can set all the rules for now. I can keep working on myself till I’m the man not only you deserve, but the man everyone else deserves to be around.” He kissed her knuckles, and gently nuzzled her fingers. “I know I’ve been kind of monologuing. Do you have anything you want to say?”

Marinette had been staring at him with very wide eyes for most of his speech. At his question, she shook her head slightly and hummed, “Well, you have to admit, it’s a lot to take in... May I think for a moment?”

Adrien nodded. “I’d like to hug you while you think. Would that be ok?”

She nodded, and he gently wrapped his arms around her. He couldn’t help how he nuzzled her hair, smelling her vanilla and strawberry shampoo. Warmth radiated from where he held her. A giddy feeling rushed through him when she returned his embrace. He had bared this nasty side of his soul to her, and she had accepted him. In her arms, he felt safe. If he had been Chat Noir, no doubt he would be purring. He was so enraptured by her holding him that he barely heard her when she spoke moments later.

“Saturday.” 

His heart skipped a beat.

“We can go out Saturday. Since we are taking it slow, I think two dates a month will be fine for now, and we can start scheduling regular group hang out with our friends. If you have a photoshoot or practices, we can all watch and hang out afterwards. Also, maybe you can talk to Nathalie about scheduling therapy appointments. They might help you get past some of your issues and become healthier, and you wouldn’t have to do it on your own. How does that sound?” 

He pulled away and giggled, nodding vigorously. She beamed up at him, her eyes shining with affection and that strong determination. 

He had never seen such a beautiful shade of blue.

**Author's Note:**

> SO this started as a dream, then became a 3am project, then became a response to lenoreofraven and their request for some fluff after a particularly heavy bout of angst. Now it is on here for you guys! 
> 
> "Desicoeur" is a combination of "desire" and "coeur," French for heart. not very creative, but akuma names aren't easy for me.  
> Also, bonus points to anyone who caught what secret Marinette thought Adrien discovered.
> 
>  
> 
> I wrote 600 words of this and thought it was done. When I came back three weeks later to wrap it up, I wrapped it in about 4,000 more words before I was semi-satisfied. I still feel like some of the transitions are too choppy, but it's now killed 4 nights of my sleep so I don't want to look at it anymore. Hope it satisfies you guys and your fluff needs!
> 
> Seriously, though, go check lenoreofraven out on tumblr. They and all of their AUs are amazing.


End file.
